Phantasmagoria: Veiled Perceptions
Synposis Phantasmagoria: Veiled Perceptions is a one-shot in a series of fanfiction in Bleach: Phantasmagoria. This story is told from the perspective of Suì-Fēng, who has noticed several irregularities regarding the upcoming Shinigami Kenshin Yagami. Intent to find out the mystery surrounding this officer, she sets in motion the chain of events that will shape his future. Veiled Perceptions As the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukido, it was important that its leader not only be aware, but be intimiatly familiar every member of the Gotei 13. Whether said individual was aware of it or not was another thing entirely. Given the nature of this division, it was not just an obligation, it was an expectation. And due to her position, Suì-Fēng had to be aware of nearly all of the happenings within Soul Society as well no matter how trivial. Yet for one reason or another she found her interest peaked so to speak, when she intercepted reports regarding the new fifth seat of the 5th Division. Normally something, so insignificant like that wouldnt warrant her immediate attention, but the Shinigami in question had been personally hand-picked by Aizen Sosuke himself. That piece of information had certainly caught her attention. It was strange because there was nothing particularly noteworthy about him. His grades in the Academy were mediocre, he didn't possess any prodigal swordsmanship nor raw talent in hand-to-hand combat, and his Demon Magic and spiritual power were average at best. Not only that, but he hadn't accomplished anything particularly noteworthy while he was apart of the 3rd Division. Which in of itself was strange. Why would Aizen pick a member of another division? What did Aizen see, that she and the others did not? And why had Gin allowed him to do it in the first place? She wasnt sure, and even to this very day, couldnt recall the exact reasoning behind her decision. But knowing what she knew now, she felt as though her instincts had been right in that something was...amiss. It was a trifling matter to staff a few Onmitsukido to observe the Shinigami, but her curiosity would be sated, one way or another. After a few days, her agents returned with their initial reports. The accounts were startling to say the least, but at the same time, very intriguing, considering how they all contradicted one another. If anything they were a complete mess, and it would take some time to sort through all of this before she had a clear picture of exactly what was going on. But she wasnt the Commander-in-Chief for nothing. While this Kenshin Yagami may have had her subordinates baffled, all it took was one evening to finally mull over their findings and piece the puzzle together. In total there were over a dozen character profiles written on him, each one more bewildering than the last. At first she nearly tore up the reports in a fit of anger, but noticed some irregularities or rather a connection between each of these profiles. It was very subtle, and she was forced to analyze the reports laterally and from the position of her agents to get the full picture. What she found had....impressed her immensely to say the least. She wasn't sure how this boy did it, the amount of information he would have needed to pull this off was confounding, and how he even acquired this knowledge in the first place was up for debate. He was subtle in his method, but he had...influenced those around him in such a way that he constructed these...persona's, based on what they believed him to be. It was interesting to see this...feedback cycle, where his actions, and words helped to build these persona. It was as if, he became the kind of individual those around him wanted...no..needed him to become. He tailored his appearance, even his personality to match their own. But to be able to fool not only her own subordinates, but that many Shinigami around him? The ability to flawless shift from one persona to the next was truly an amazing skill for anyone to possess. An invaluable skill even. A dangerous one at that. Yet one she found herself wanting to covet this Shinigami for herself. Given the report it was evident that his perceptive, attention to detail and innate skill of subterfuge possibly dwarfed her own, and if not, could very quickly surpass her own if he were properly trained. Was this what Aizen saw? This well of untapped potential? But that begged the question...how? When? Well whatever his reason it was something she would investigate later. For now, it was time she formulated her own plans, while she wasn't particularly known for it, she too was quite adept in the art of manipulation. But first, she would have to test the mettle of this Shinigami, and determine for herself whether he was worthy of her interest...and whether he was what the Onmitsukido needed. Behind the Scenes *Obviously this fic is written from Suì-Fēng's point of view, and it roughly takes place during her captaincy of the 2nd Division. Its important to note that it wasnt Kenshin's skill in swordsmanship, hand-to-hand skills or even his reiatsu, that sparked her interest. It was his ability to manipulate those around him into believing what he wanted them to believe, and it was such that Suì-Fēng is able to immediately recognize the potential he has, and thus makes plans to acquire that skill. In most fanfiction stories they tend to revolve around the raw power character has, rather than skills or abilities with greater scope or utility. Category:Illuminate Void Category:Fanfiction